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Estimated $11 million for Southwestern storm repairs

Steve Tobias, Director of Buildings and Grounds for TSC, talks Wednesday, July 9, 2014, about the ongoing work to reopen Mintonye Elementary and Southwestern Middle Schools. Bots schools sustained severe damage from a tornado last November.
By John Terhune

When Southwestern Middle School reopens — whenever that may be — the southside school will feature several upgrades and a major security enhancement.

Steve Gloyeske, president of Lafayette-based architect Scholer Corp., on Wednesday outlined those improvements to Tippecanoe School Corp. board members as they took the next step toward repairing the school damaged by a Nov. 17 tornado.

Also revealed was the expected bill for Southwestern repairs. Total project costs are estimated at more than $11 million, Gloyeske said. Most of that is expected to be covered by insurance, but TSC will have to shoulder some of the cost.

"We've not seen numbers on Southwestern that are complete," said Kim Fox, TSC's chief financial officer.

Improvements planned for the school include:

• A new lobby area and a reconfiguration of the front office to give staff better control over public access to the school.

• A separation between the band and choir rooms, which are currently entwined, to provide more space for both programs.

• Additional restrooms in a building that Gloyeske said was previously "woefully under-toileted."

• Modifications to the gym's concession area and the addition of several classrooms.

School board members on Wednesday night awarded a $366,000 contract to Lafayette-based contractor J.R. Kelly.

That bid, the first of several to be brought before the board for approval in the next several months, will cover demolition to make room for the repairs and upgrades to Southwestern's academic wing.

Since November, Southwestern and the adjacent Mintonye Elementary School have been out of commission after a tornado tore off roofing from both schools and left gaping holes in Southwestern's gymnasium.

While construction continues inching Mintonye closer to a planned August reopening, the timeline for the more severely damaged Southwestern remains unclear.

"We're on the cusp of the timeline coming into better focus," Superintendent Scott Hanback said. "What we've said is if it's Christmas, that gives us two to three weeks to move in. If it's done Jan. 15, we'll move in Jan. 16. If it's done Feb. 1, we'll move in Feb. 2."

Because the project is more than $2 million, it could be considered as a "controlled project" under Indiana law and therefore eligible for the remonstrance process, in which property owners and registered voters can file a petition protesting the project.

The public would have 30 days to file such a petition. But rather than undergo that remonstrance window, TSC has chosen another route to expedite the rebuilding.

By Indiana law, any project approved by the local county council that is necessitated by a natural disaster, accident or emergency is not considered a controlled project and is exempt from the remonstrance process.

The Southwestern project is expected to be brought before the Tippecanoe County Council at its Aug. 12 meeting for approval. By going through the council, Hanback said, the district can shave time off the project and return students to Southwestern more quickly.

Meanwhile, work is in its final stages at Mintonye, where crews are replacing ceiling grids and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

"A lot of work's been going on there, so we're fairly happy with that," said Steve Tobias, director of buildings and grounds. "I think we'll be right where we need to be to move in."